On doing time at Bradley...

Greetings from Bradley International. If you've been following my blog over the past few days, you've learned it's one of my least favorite airports ever. Well, at least the US Air terminal. In all fairness, as I arrived today I glanced at the other terminal and it looks like it may carry some potential. But not this end. I've just downed two of the worst pieces of pizza of my existence from a pizza and sub place where the pizza slicer was CHAINED to the counter. What kind of place is this? Is pizza cutter theft a major issue here? Is it a safety concern or is it just the employees needing something to cut the real pizza they order at home after a day's work surrounded by imitation pie? The world may never know.

So, 2 hours to go before my flight and here I am. There's a bar down the way showing the Patriots game on a static-filled 19" tv, but said bar is the same establishment that owns the pizza that will likely give me heartburn in time for takeoff. What's odd is there are two guys at the bar wearing Pats jersey, like a couple of locals who have shown up to their favorite sports bar . Too weird.

My event went ok today. The trouble is that our Boston event was DYN-O-MITE and incapable of having an equal. I knew this event would be smaller, but it didn't necessarily have to indicate duller. A small group of the right kind of people, after all, is always better than a large group of the wrong.

Sigh. Sadly, we had a small group where the wrong outnumbered the right.

It's odd to consider how, in my job, I have learned a true appreciation for what stand-up comics do. Confused? Let me explain. Much of what we do at these events and the sessions we give on campus consists of a one hour PowerPoint presentation. I know. Aren't you on the edge of your seat?

So, because we're only human, we try to throw in jokes here and there, mix it up a bit, and keep those in the crowd alert and ok about sacrificing a couple of hours of their life to our purpose. And when it goes well, it goes REALLY well. In Boston last week you would have thought I was Elvis. People laughed when I wanted them to, they participated when I "turned the mic their way" and there was a line of adoring fans waiting to meet me and my colleague at the end.

In Connecticut? Not so much.

Now, there was certainly more energy to feed off of in Boston, but, the major difference I'm pointing out here is audience and geography's role in it. They laugh in Boston, they press in Connecticut. At my old institution, we would do two events back to back, one in Tysons Corner, VA, the other in Bethesda, MD. In Virginia, they would smile and laugh. In Maryland, they would display little to no personality and not respond to any of the same attempts at humor. Period. And we're talking a difference of about 11 miles. What gives?

So I don't understand how stand-ups do it. How they move from crowd to crowd with the same material over and over and over again, and have it kill in some areas and fall completely flat in others. I know I've written in the past about loathing the DC concert scene because NO ONE gets into it. People must dread coming to the DC area, period.

So, I'm feeling less confident about our event, even though there wasn't really any difference in how we presented the information or anything like that. My event on Wednesday should be much the same, in Westchester County, but I'll hope for more signs of life when I hit Portland, Oregon and Chicago next month.

Or maybe I just need to change my approach. Know the places that will get the humor and use it to my favor, and play up the seriousness for the other places. It just seems like such a shame though. I work in an industry where so many students feel so stressed out and confused. One of things things I think I offer my field is a lighter, more realistic approach that, I hope, calms people down a bit and educates them. Who knew one might prefer the smoke and mirrors?